With a population of 7.9 billion people, the diverse nature of languages spoken all over the world should not come as a surprise.
Yet, there are many who still believe that English is a language that is spoken in every nook and cranny of the globe.
English, in fact, is only spoken by 20% of the world’s population, which means that the majority of the world speaks different languages. There are approximately 7,139 languages spoken worldwide, but only 23 of those languages account for worldwide communication.
Despite such a small number, linguistic diversity is present in most countries in the world, with each country speaking more than one language. This blog post is going to focus on the most linguistically diverse countries in the world.
What are the most diverse regions when it comes to spoken language?
Australia: Australia is the sixth-largest country in the world with a population of 25 million and while English is the dominant language in this country, 311 other languages exist there. 21% of families even admit to speaking a language other than English within the home.
Of the 312 languages spoken in Australia, the popular languages are; Mandarin, Cantonese, Italian, Greek, Vietnamese, Australian Creole, Bardi, Gooniyandi, and Kija.
Asides from other foreign languages spoken in Australia, indigenous languages account for over 100 of the languages.
The United States of America: The U.S.A has long been classified as an immigrant nation. Of its 328 million inhabitants, more than 40 million were born in a different country, and Data collated by the U.S census shows that roughly 430 languages are spoken in the country.
English stands as the language most spoken within its shores. But other foreign and indigenous languages are present in the community, with over 52 million of the country’s population admit to speaking languages other than English inside the home.
The other languages widely spoken in the U.S.A include; Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, French, Vietnamese, Navajo, Cherokee, Italian, Punjabi, Korean, Choctaw, German, Korean, Samoan, and Russian.
India: India is the second-most populous nation on earth, with 1.3 billion people living in it. The country has 22 official languages, but even at that, the probability of two random Indians understanding each other is 36%.
This is because a 2011 census revealed that India is home to over 19,000 languages. The linguistic divisions in India are the Indo-Aryan and Dravidian, with other languages being derivatives of Austro-Asian and Tibetan-Burman families.
Hindi is the most spoken language in the country of the 22 official languages, but other well-spoken languages found in India include; Bengali, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu, Nepali, Kannada, Assamese, and Manipuri.
Nigeria: Nigeria stands as Africa’s most populous country by a wide margin, with a population of 206 million who speak a collective of 525 different languages.
Most of the language spoken in Nigeria is derived from Afro-Asiatic languages, Nilo-Saharan, or Niger-Congo languages.
Although the official language is English and is spoken by 184 million people, other languages spoken in Nigeria include; Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, Kanuri, Fulfulde, Idoma, Igala, Ijaw, Kalabari, Ibibio, Tiv, Aduge, Abanyom, Esan, and Jahuna.
In an effort to preserve the diverse languages, Nigeria’s government has taken steps to acknowledge the varying languages of her different cultures before they become extinct.
Indonesia: Indonesia is home to 711 languages, with Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia) as its official language.
The linguistically diverse nature of Indonesia can be attributed to its location as Indonesia plays host to over 17,000 islands with 7,000 being uninhabited.
While there are foreign languages spoken in the country, local indigenous languages account for the majority of what is spoken there. Approximately found in Indonesia, making it the second most linguistically diverse nation in the world.
Languages commonly spoken in Indonesia include; Acehense, Batawi, Nias, Osing, Tolaki, and Gayo.
Papua New Guinea: This Oceanic sovereign state is the most linguistically diverse nation as it is home to 840 living languages.
Much of its linguistic diversity is due to the lack of globalization within the country, where most of the citizens of Papua New Guinea live away from the influence of modernization in their interactions and location.
Approximately 80% of the country’s citizens live in rural areas. Of the commonly used languages, Tok Pisin is number one, but the nation has four officially recognized languages. Other languages found here include; English, Hiri Motu, Rabaul Creole German, Bosavi, and Sepik.
The cultural variances of various countries can only add to the world’s beauty, but its diverse languages can also become communication barriers.
For businesses or organizations looking to enter these culturally diverse regions, there is a cogent need to overcome language barriers and it can only happen through effective translation and localization services.
Taking your business to culturally diverse regions does not necessarily need to be a sticky wicket, especially when you have the right language service provider.
TranslationsinLondon is dedicated to making your brands’ entry as smooth as possible with the best translation and localization services
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